Freshman T.J. Warren scored 31 points Tuesday to lead N.C. State to its most impressive ACC win of the season

RALEIGH – The thing about momentum is that it doesn’t begin from a standing start. Like a tractor trailer chugging up a hill, it rolls out slowly and eventually picks up speed as it goes along.

The same can be said for a college basketball season.

It’s one thing to play well in November and December, and even into January when the conference schedules begins. But those games are only mere preliminaries to help get the ball rolling for the games that really mean something at the end.

With just three weeks left in the regular season, those games are rapidly approaching. And for the first time since its upset of Duke more than a month ago, it finally appears as though N.C. State might just be gaining some momentum for a big finish.

No, these aren’t the same Seminoles that won the ACC tournament championship last year. Far from it.

But that’s the point.

Unlike most of its recent games, State didn’t play down to the level of its competition. This time it got off to a strong start and kept the hammer down on both ends of the court until the finish – outrebounding FSU 45-21 and getting a career-high 31 points and 13 rebounds from freshman T.J. Warren for its most lopsided ACC victory of the season.

“We needed a game like this,” said coach Mark Gottfried, whose Wolfpack improved to 19-7 overall (8-5 ACC). “We needed to play well and feel good about how we played. It was an important game for us tonight.”

That importance goes beyond the final score and the impact it had on keeping State in position to claim one of four first-round byes to the upcoming league tournament.

One of the most positive aspects of the victory came on the boards, where the Wolfpack showed it can still be dominant even when center Richard Howell isn’t his usually consistent self.

With their lowpost workhorse limited to just seven rebounds – four below his ACC-leading average – Warren and C.J. Leslie combined to take up the slack with 23 between them. That includes 14 off the offensive glass, leading to a whopping 29 second-chance points.

“Coach Gottfried has been stressing on me that I need to start rebounding and crash the glass on every single possession,” Warren said. “That’s what I wanted to do tonight.”

That’s the main reason Gottfried put the 6-foot-8 forward into the starting lineup in place of struggling guard Rodney Purvis. The offense he provided turned out to be a bonus.

Warren came to State with the reputation for being a prolific scorer. He showed why Tuesday, making 12 of 15 field goals, including his first two 3-pointers since Jan. 26 and all five free throws in a productive 31 minutes.

His contribution, combined with the recent improvement of fellow rookie Tyler Lewis, gives the Wolfpack an added dimension – not to mention a deeper rotation – heading down the stretch.

“Sometimes a freshmen, they’re up and they’re down, they’re up and they’re down.” Gottfried said. “(Warren) got an opportunity to step into the lineup tonight and I thought he took advantage of it.

“I’ve told all three of those freshmen all year long that for our team to be great, all three of (them) need to play well. Tonight happened to be T.J.’s opportunity and he was very good.”

But he wasn’t the only one. With Leslie adding 19 points and 10 rebounds, Wood hitting three more 3-pointers – including the 300th of his career – and point guard Lorenzo Brown handing out nine assists, the Wolfpack looked a lot like the team that won 10 straight before hitting some hard times in mid-January.

State will try to pick up even more momentum Saturday in an emotional rivalry rematch with North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“You always want your team to be playing its best basketball in late February and March,” Gottfried said. “Hopefully we can continue to improve and play well.”

With this team, of course, you just never know. If nothing else, though, at least Tuesday’s performance was a promising way to start.